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Google agrees to pay owners of faulty Pixel phones up to $500

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Google has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought by owners of the original Google Pixel who said the company knowingly sold handsets with defective microphones. Pending the court’s approval, Google could pay up to $500 to certain Pixel owners for a total settlement of $7.25 million. Pixel and Pixel XL devices manufactured before January 4th, 2017, are covered by the lawsuit.

Google first admitted that there was an issue with some of the phones back in March 2017 when it said that less than 1 percent of Pixel phones had a “hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec.” This caused issues with calling and the phone’s voice assistant functionality. At the time, it said it would take “additional steps to reinforce the connection,” but less than a year later, it was hit by a lawsuit by owners who were angry that the company continued to sell the phones, despite knowing about the issues.

Even Pixel owners who didn’t experience issues could get up to $20

The proposed settlement groups owners of the 2016 Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL into four categories to determine the level of compensation to which they’re entitled. The highest payout is due to be owed to anyone who returned a Pixel with a defective microphone, only to receive another defective device from the manufacturer. These claimants could be paid up to $500 in the settlement. Any owners who had just a single defective device could get up to $350, while anyone who had to pay an insurance deductible could have its value repaid. Even Pixel owners who experienced no issues with their phones at all could get up to $20 from this settlement.

This isn’t the only lawsuit that Google has agreed to settle this year. Back in April, the search giant agreed to settle a lawsuit relating to Nexus 6P devices, which suffered from a bug that could trap them in a bootlooping issue. As part of that lawsuit, Google and the phone’s manufacturer Huawei agreed to a $9.75 million settlement. A final decision on that lawsuit is due to be made after a hearing on October 10th.

Since the court has yet to give its final approval in the Pixel microphone case, the link to submit a claim form isn’t yet live. You can register to receive updates by filling out a form with the law firm conducting the case. A hearing to decide whether to grant preliminary approval for the settlement is due to take place on June 5th. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Correction: Google and Huawei’s settlement was $9.75 million, not $9.75.